Factors contributing to the effectiveness of EFL teachers: An overview

Uncovering the factors contributing to language teachers’ effectiveness is essential in improving learners’ achievement and the quality of educational systems, specifically in EFL contexts where the amount of input is much less than ESL contexts. There has been no thorough definition of teachers’ effectiveness including all factors contributing to this construct. Considering “effectiveness” as a keyword, this paper reviews related studies in an attempt to classify the factors that contribute to language teachers’ effectiveness. It is argued that, although the word “effectiveness” is sensible to the context of teaching, factors contributing to this construct have some features in common in all contexts, and some of them are also shared among teachers of other fields. Factors extracted from the literature are as follows: assessment literacy, content and pedagogical knowledge, experience, oral proficiency, personality type, and self-efficacy, each with their sub-components. The findings of the present study can provide language teachers, teacher trainers, and other stakeholders with valuable insights into the ways that can enhance teacher effectiveness.